Bönte, Andreas: Die Vergangenheit in mir

During a hospital stay necessitated by anxiety disorders, journalist Andreas Bönte gains his first shocking insights into his own family history. Further investigation reveals that his grandfatherwho had taken his own life in December 1944had held a leadership position in the SA and led a squad of thugs on November 9, 1938, the night of the *Kristallnacht* pogroms. His mother had been an enthusiastic member of the BDM and had discovered her father shot dead in the family home. Due to the resulting trauma and shame, the familys Nazi past was kept under a veil of silence for decades. In this book, Andreas Bönte recounts the research that confronted him with his familys Nazi past, his immersion in a world of repressed memories, and the way that trauma was passed down to himexperiences he shares with many in the Baby Boomer generation. Includes numerous photographs and documents from the authors personal archive.